Jamaican PM says

JAMAICAN Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller yesterday said TT’s true wealth was not in the abundant energy reserves but in the energy of its human resource. “You my dear children are the true wealth of this nation,” Simpson-Miller told scores of youngsters at Jean Pierre Complex at a rally organised by the Ministry of Education in the Jamaican PM’s honour.

She told them to remember that true wealth was in their heads and they must guard and nurture their minds. Simpson-Miller said the history of the Caribbean was one of survival and triumph and this history should be taught in homes and schools across the region.

She said the children represented the future and also reflected the energy, dynamism, and promise which were very much part of the ethos of the region.

Simpson-Miller said they were part of a region which produced some of the most gifted people in the world. She listed several popular TT and Jamaican nationals including Audrey Jeffers, Brian Lara, Bob Marley and Asafa Powell.

In her address, Simpson-Miller told the children she loved them and was touched by their sincere welcome. She provided several tips for them to fulfill their potential and outlined the “four D’s for success” - desire, drive, determination and detail.

Simpson-Miller said desire must be supported by drive, and determination was indispensable to success. Using her own experience to illustrate, Simpson-Miller said she has been in politics a long time and competed against men.

“I am here standing before you as a hope and inspiration of a number of children in Jamaica as their leader and PM.” She advised the children that they too could rise and become TT’s Education Minister or Prime Minister.

In her address, Education Minister Hazel Manning said her Ministry was committed to partnering with Jamaica and other Caribbean neighbours to improve the education system. She disclosed that the Education Ministry and National Training Agency (NTA) were collaborating with the Jamaican NTA “to share plans and understand the systems used in the development of instructional packages as well as the assessments for Levels One and Two at training institutions and schools.”

The Jamaican PM arrived at the Complex shortly before noon to loud cheers. She walked around the perimeter of the stands to greet the eager children who rushed to shake her hand or take her photograph with their cell phones.